The People v. William Baumgartner
California Supreme Court
66 P. 974 (1901)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
In 1901, William Baumgartner (defendant) and two other men dug up the grave of a man they believed was buried with a large sum of money. They searched the body but found only 10 cents and a counterfeit dollar. Baumgartner was convicted of violating a California law prohibiting the unlawful disinterment of a body by removing it from its place of burial. Baumgartner appealed, claiming that he did not commit disinterment because he only searched the body and did not remove it from the coffin or grave. He argued that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that disinterment could be construed to include situations in which a body was not removed from its grave. He claimed the instruction did not consider the common usage of disinterment and its use in the statute, which also referenced removal of the body.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chipman, J.)
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